My name is Suzanne and nearly 13 years ago I embarked on an amazing story, but at the time I didn't realize how amazing. In 2010, I was a housewife of 20 years with 2 beautiful (homeschooled) teenage children. That year on my 40th birthday, my mother gave me some Alexander Calder drawings. The drawings came from artwork she got from her encounters with a stranger in 1991 and 1992. She asked me to help her sell the remaining artwork (Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Éduardo Manet, Jane Peterson, Jim Cassel, Kees van Dongen, Camille Bombois). I asked her to let me try one more time to solve who the stranger was. She agreed.
Looking back at that moment, I think of the things I could tell myself to prepare for what I was about to go through... Fast forward to 2022!
To stand up for a story so amazing, so HUGE that no one believes you... It's a path I wouldn't recommend to anyone. No one could predict how truly HUGE my mother's story was. As I unraveled the facts surrounding this stranger I too struggled with believing this was the reality of my mother's story. But it is important to note that as stated above my mother's story originally occurred in 1991/1992. I was 21 years old, so 19 years later when I am 40, my mother's story is a matter of fact. It has woven itself into our lives.
Over the years we have made many attempts at trying to figure out who the stranger was. Plus, getting the artwork validated was another hurdle. We as a family had discussed her artwork and this stranger many times over the years. It was just a matter of eventually solving it all. With the artwork involved and the stories he shared with my mother, we are expecting the stranger to be someone of wealth.
But what we thought the stranger represented in the story, wasn't what it turned out to be. We thought he was just this nice man that did some nice deeds for a lady in some small little unknown town before he passed away. Our goal was to share this man's story. Let the world know of his generosity. He had told her to sell the artwork and retire. 1991/1992 was a time before we had access to all the information we do today thanks to the internet. So solving who this stranger was took us some time - as access to information on the internet grew.
When you finally solve it and those you reach out to are ignoring you, it is hard to understand- them not understanding you.
- The art crimes that I believe this stranger participated in exist. That is a fact!
- Some person(s) did these art crimes. That is a fact!
- These art crimes remain unsolved. That is a fact!
- Artwork by Master Artists was sold to my mother by a stranger. That is a fact!
But for some reason my mother's encounters with this stranger peddling Artwork by Master Artists isn't treated as a fact? It is never investigated. No news agency will report on it. Yet all other stories of some person peddling Artwork by Master Artists is reported on. Why is it that my mother's artwork story isn't? What truth are all of you afraid to find? David Koch, William Koch, and Frederick Koch's art crimes?
I believe if we can get my mother's art story in the news, other places or people will start to come forward that have also been impacted by the art/collectibles crimes of the Koch Brothers. Something tells me the Isabella Stewart Gardener art heist, the James Bourlet & Sons storage art/collectibles fire, and Cambridge University's stolen Charles Darwin notepads aren't the Koch's only art/collectibles crimes.
EVENT 1 March 18, 1990: One of the largest art heists in history, allegedly ordered by a billionaire, occurred. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum ART Heist EVENT 2 September 21, 1991 (discovered September 24, 1991): Mafia member and prime suspect in the above art heist (Robert Donati) who stated he was prepaid by a billionaire to do the art heist was found murdered mafia style (bound and gagged in the trunk of a car.) According to reports, the mafia didn't instruct Donati to do the heist and killed him to set an example. Read A True Crime Art Story SOLVED by Suzanne. EVENT 3 October 7, 1991 (11 days after Donati was discovered murdered): James Bourlet & Son art storage warehouse fire (in London, UK), destroyed several hundred million dollars in art and collectibles. Most of the items destroyed belonged to a billionaire (Koch). Read the Independent.co.uk news article here. EVENT 4 November 1991: My mother's story begins with a stranger arriving in her life at her flea market booth, sharing stories of a wealthy man's life and selling her artwork by Master Artists for several dollars a piece. Calling himself Ed Koch. Visits over several months. View the handwritten notes from those visits here.
The stolen art/collectibles can be recovered if others come forward. Including Cambridge University - see video here
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